I found yesterday's Poll results very interesting in that the number one response was it really did not matter where you were physically in order to enjoy tea, it was more a matter of where you were mentally. I agree, but was still surprised. There is still time to vote and post on yesterday's topic.

Welcome one and all to TeaDay...pour a pot and come share what is in your cup today...all day. So share whenever you can...inquiring TeaMinds wanna know! While you are here, be sure to check out what everyone else is sipping this Monday.

Today's TeaPoll goes back to new harvests...there has been a rapid increase in discussion of new harvest teas here on the forum. So, what have you been up to...seriously looking, buying, preordering, casually looking...not giving a hoot. Where do you stand today on the subject of new harvest tea?

I am looking forward to hearing everyone's responses...and have a great TeaDay everyone!!!

I was in doubt as to whether I should order more white tea or wait for the new harvest. In the end I ordered ehough to see me through to the 2008s become available, and the Silver Needle from Adagio was just fine. I will order the 2008 as soon as it is in.

For sencha (no shincha for gyokuro or matcha), as long as you buy from good vendors, you can buy your sencha anytime in the year. I only buy shincha for 3-4 months of consumption.

It is the same from Darjeelings if your seller can assure you which harvest he sells. I prefer to order my year consumption now at one time, just to avoid the "out of stock".

I have so far ordered two shincha: Kirameki (O-Cha) and 88 nights (Kaburagien).
I might order one or two more in a few weeks.
I am waiting for my usual shops (Palais des thés et Mariage Frères) to sell their 2008 Darjeelings (I should buy about 8 100gr packages for the spring harvest and 2 from the summer harvest I guess) and their 2008 chinese greens (4 or 5 packages will be enough as I have been drinking more japanese green since last year).

This morning Keemun for breakfast and now some houjicha with my lunch.

I'm mostly a black tea drinker and honestly, my tastes fall to the lower end of the spectrum with good black teas- so I'm not too worried as to when my tea was harvested. I'm pretty sure there won't be any $20 an ounce fancy Darjeelings in my future...

I've had a good time browsing various tea vendor sites to see what was already out and what was going to be sold in the future, but I haven't pre-ordered or purchased anything yet. Most of my waiting comes from debating which 2008 tea from O-cha sounds the best since I haven't ordered from them yet. I've been looking at the Fukamushi Supreme, Yutaka Midori, and Miyabi. Some how I have this feeling that I will end up with more than one.

This morning's tea is three steeps of White Tip Oolong in travel mugs for a long day of classes.

Cinnamon Kitty wrote: I've been looking at the Fukamushi Supreme, Yutaka Midori, and Miyabi. Some how I have this feeling that I will end up with more than one.

I know this feeling too well.

By the way, I had Otsusan karigane sencha teabag (from Tsuen). It came as a gift with an O-cha order this winter. I was surprised by the quality of this teabag (two 100ml good steeps, the third was unsurprisingly weak). Not as good as top loose leaf tea, but better that many.

Personally as long as the tea is fresh and stays fresh long enough for me to finish it I do not care that much about harvest year. Price and quality are the two factors that I look at and I generally drink the cheapest tea that is at a sufficient quality to satisfy me. Maybe it it just my lack of experience but there gets to be a point where the increase in price no longer seems to match up with increased enjoyment in the cup.

Mostly drinking Jasmine pearls today, except for a strong cup of Flintridge Chai as the base for a morning protein smoothie.

In an effort to keep a check on my tea addiction, I've purposedly NOT jumped on the fresh harvest bandwagon. There's probably (at least) a good year's worth of tea in my cabinets now that needs to be enjoyed before justifying a deeper plunge. Not that I won't by any new teas this year, but I'm staying away from the gotta-buy-new-harvest idea for now.

But I really do like chamekke's avitar of a Tea Addict patch. Could we earn those like little scout badges ? [An idea for a new product Adagio...]

So far I haven't ordered any Shincha, but i've been watching it very closely.

Sadly and interestingly today i'm having some 2007 shincha. I was organizing my tea yesterday and found that I had picked up some Yame Gyokuro Vil. Hoshino Shincha 2007 from Lupicia and forgotten about it. The stuff is almost a year old now, but it is downright delicious.